Backlash (2005)
Backlash (2005) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on May 1, 2005, at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was the seventh event under the Backlash chronology, the third consecutive Backlash presented by Namco's Tekken 5. The show's six matches showcased prominent WWE wrestlers, who acted out the franchise's stories in and out of the ring. The event starred talent from the Raw brand. To date, it is the only WWE pay-per-view event ever to be held in the state of New Hampshire. In the main event, Batista defeated Triple H in a singles match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. From the five scheduled bouts on the undercard, two received more promotion than the others. The first was a tag team match, in which Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan defeated Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. The other was a Last Man Standing match, a match where a wrestler is unable to respond to a ten count by the referee would lose. Edge defeated Chris Benoit after Benoit failed to get to his feet before the referee's count to ten. Backlash helped WWE increase its pay-per-view revenue by $4.7 million, through ticket sales and pay-per-view buys. Storylines The event featured six professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or fan favorites as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. All wrestlers belonged to the Raw brand – a storyline division in which WWE assigned its employees to a different program, the other being SmackDown!. he main event at Backlash was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship, in which Batista defended the championship against Triple H. The buildup to the match began after WrestleMania 21, WWE's previous pay-per-view event, where Batista defeated Triple H to win the championship. On the April 11 episode of Raw, one of WWE's primary television programs, it was announced that Batista would defend the championship against Triple H at Backlash, after Triple H invoked his rematch clause. The following week, Triple H had a no disqualification match, a match where neither wrestler can be disqualified, allowing for weapons and outside interference, against Raw commentator Jim Ross, in which Ross won by pinfall after Batista interfered and hit Triple H in the head with a steel chair. On the April 25 episode of Raw, Batista defeated Christian in a singles championship match, where Batista retained his title. After the match, Triple H assaulted Batista and hit the World Champion with a Pedigree. The pay-per-view event featured the buildup of a rivalry among two tag teams, Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan versus Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. The night after WrestleMania, Michaels thanked the fans for their support towards him, despite Michaels losing at the event. Michaels continued, but was interrupted by Hassan and Daivari. Michaels, however, was in no mood to listen to Hassan's comments regarding Michaels loss. As a result, Michaels slapped Hassan, which led to Hassan and Daivari to attack Michaels, leaving him unconscious in the ring. The following week, Michaels approached authority figure Eric Bischoff and demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule the match, but informed Michaels to find a partner and he would grant him the match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. Another preliminary match was between Edge versus Chris Benoit in a Last Man Standing Match. At WrestleMania, Edge won the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match, gaining himself a contract that gave him a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship within one year. On the April 4 episode of Raw, Edge chose not to use his contract that night, deciding to wait until the right opportunity. When Edge declined to force Batista into a title defense, Eric Bischoff scheduled Edge in a match against Chris Benoit. Benoit won the match by pinfall after performing a roll-up. After the match, Edge attacked Benoit's injured arm with a steel chair. Two weeks later, Benoit and Edge faced off in another match, in which ended in a no-contest, leading to Bischoff to book the Last Man Standing match for Backlash. Other feuds that received less promotion and culminated into matches at Backlash include WWE Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin versus Chris Jericho for the title in standard singles bouts. William Regal and Tajiri versus Rosey and The Hurricane versus The Heart Throbs (Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli) versus La Résistance (Sylvain Grenier and Robért Conway) in a tag team turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship, and a singles match between Kane (accompanied by Lita) versus Viscera (accompanied with Trish Stratus). Aftermath The next night on Raw, General Manager Eric Bischoff held a Gold Rush Tournament to determine who would be the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The matches were Kane versus Christian, Shawn Michaels versus Shelton Benjamin, Edge versus Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit versus Triple H. Kane, Michaels, Edge and Benoit all advanced to the next round. The next week, Edge faced Michaels and Kane faced Benoit. Edge and Kane advanced to the finals. One week later the finals took place between Edge and Kane. Edge won the tournament after Lita helped Edge win. One week later, Edge faced Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista won the match by pinfall after executing a Batista Bomb. Edge then started a feud with Kane, which lasted until Kane defeated him at Vengeance. The next night on Raw, Triple H and Batista verbally taunted each other. Three weeks later, after Batista's world title match against Edge, Triple H then came out with a sledgehammer and Ric Flair attacked Batista with a low blow, leading to Batista being attacked by Triple H. Afterward, Triple H told Batista that they were going to face each other again at Vengeance in a Hell in a Cell match and performed a Pedigree on Batista onto the title. At Vengeance, Batista retained the title against Triple H. In June, Batista was drafted to SmackDown in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, which, as a result, ended the rivalry. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Backlash Category:Backlash Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2005 Pay-Per-View Events